Want To Raise A Seeing-Eye Dog? Morristown Org. Needs Your Help

MORRISTOWN, NJ — Become its guide before it becomes a guide. The Seeing Eye seeks volunteers interested in raising a puppy who will one day get trained to guide a person who is blind.

Puppy raisers are foster families of all types — large and small, with and without pets. A puppy raiser family is responsible for providing a loving and nurturing home environment for approximately one year. During that time, the raiser is responsible for teaching basic obedience, house manners and bringing the puppy to Seeing Eye puppy club meetings and socialization trips in their area.

The puppies are German shepherds, labrador retrievers, golden retrievers and labrador/golden retriever crosses.

“Raising a Seeing Eye® puppy is a great way for children to experience the value of giving back to the community, or a project for people who are retired and looking to contribute their time to a good cause,” said Jill Jaycox, the organization's Linda Feinne-Roth manager of puppy development. “It’s never easy to give back a puppy that you have raised and lived with for a year, but our volunteers always agree that watching the transformation from puppy to Seeing Eye dog makes the journey worth it.”

The Seeing Eye has puppy clubs divided by region who meet regularly and provide the puppy raisers with training tips, advice and share puppy-sitting responsibilities when a family has plans that prevent them from keeping their puppy for a short period of time, such as a vacation.

Puppies are delivered by a Seeing Eye Puppy Coordinator around 7 weeks of age and picked up from the family around 13- 15 months of age. The Seeing Eye Puppy Coordinator is always a phone call or email away — night and day — to answer questions or provide assistance.

“We need homes and families of all shapes and sizes for our puppies, because fully trained Seeing Eye dogs are placed in similarly diverse families and living situations with people who are blind and visually impaired,” Jaycox said. “We don’t require applicants to have experience with dog training or raising puppies, because we provide all the necessary support to the family and teach them everything they need to know.”

Puppy raisers must live within New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. All veterinary expenses are covered by The Seeing Eye and a stipend is provided to help cover the cost of dog food. If a Seeing Eye puppy does not graduate from the program, the family who raised the puppy is offered the first option to adopt the puppy they raised.

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